If you like:

šŸ’”reading and editing scientific manuscripts

šŸ’”love language rules (specifically English)

šŸ’”applying your niche area of research expertise to the same field

šŸ’”primarily working independently

Things to keep in mind:Ā 

šŸ“šmost require at least an MS, but PhD is recommended.

šŸ“š a lot of time management is needed to keep track of all the manuscripts coming your way to review, with limited oversight.Ā 

šŸ“šthose I talked to said they typically spend most of the day reading and writing, with not much conversation with other people

Why take scientists?

šŸ§ŖEditors need advanced, often niche, knowledge to fully understand a drafted scientific article, especially if required to provide suggestions to improve the work (i.e. tehcnical expertise).Ā 

šŸ§ŖYou may receive articles far from ready to be published, and need to have both a scientific and general eye to take the niche finding and make the paper accessible to the larger scientific community.

Job opportunities to keep an eye for:Ā 

šŸ’» Scientific Editor

šŸ’» Medical Editor

šŸ’» Associate or Senior Editor

Ways to learn about this career:

šŸ—£ļøget involved with writing manuscriptsĀ 

šŸ—£ļøvolunteer with science societies that have guest writers (ex: ASBMB Today)

šŸ—£ļøsuggest writing a review article

šŸ—£ļøconsider taking a media training class or online workshopĀ 

Other resources